The Singularity Is Near

August 5, 2009

Viking Press | In The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, Ray Kurzweil presents the next stage of his compelling view of the future: the merging of humans and machines. Kurzweil refers to this as “the singularity,” and describes it as “…a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed.”

In The Singularity Is Near, Kurzweil postulates that we are already in the very early stages of this transition, and that within just a few decades, life as we know it will be completely different. As Kurzweil explains, “The singularity will represent the culmination of the merger of our biological thinking and existence with our technology, resulting in a world that is still human but that transcends our biological roots. There will be no distinction, post-singularity, between human and machine nor between physical and virtual reality. If you wonder what will remain unequivocally human in such a world, it’s simply this quality: ours is the species that inherently seeks to extend its physical and mental reach beyond current limitations.”

I’m posting this because of the focus on Mr. Kurzweil’s work–I’m glad it’s getting so much attention, particularly now. I read Kurzweil’s year 2000 mind-uploading article in Psychology Today when it first came out and was intrigued, especially by his depiction of what it might be like to live in virtual reality. As part of the article, he imagines two friends meeting in a virtual cafe. The fantasy highlights the virtuals’ choices in physical appearance (raspberry eyes and custom musculature). One person in Kurzweil’s scenario has several copies of himself, who are busy doing other things and the cafe friends joke about still being able to identify each other. After reading his account, I was excited by the idea of death being an option and not a necessary end and considered what existing as a virtual being might really be like. So many options and so much time. I wondered how much time might pass before all the jokes were old, the fantasies played out and eye options no longer charmed. What inheritance laws might call into question which copy is real and can decide who gets the family silver and sell off the estate and pays the taxes. In 2003 I wrote a treatment for a screenplay. Then, in 2005 I began to write novels and decided to explore in depth ways this technology might change us–our society, laws and the sum of all that data–our humanity. Providing these environments might be quite profitable with lots of bells and whistles. In October of 2009, I began to write a novel called Babylon Dreams. In February 2010, I finished it. If you have the time, I hope you’ll take a look at my wordpress blog- marjoriekayesbabylondreams